Luke 24 13-35 Easter 3
I was able to watch the recent BBC series over Easter called THE PASSION.
I enjoyed it. I found the presentation of Jesus very effective throughout all the episodes, - until it came to the last one.
The episode which related to the resurrection.
For those who did not, or were not able, to watch these programmes.
The programmes did not follow strictly the text of the Gospel narrative. And I know that this has upset some people. I read an article in the RC magazine called the Tablet which was very critical of the programme as a whole.
But I thought the Jesus depicted was a vital and challenging person. And the narrative did hang together by quoting some crucial words of Jesus in that last earthly week of his life, and then weaving into that narrative some words from earlier in his ministry.
What upset some, for example in the Tablet, was that the author of this production, then linked these recoded words of Jesus, by some invented words, to link it all together.
Well- as I said at the beginning, - I felt this interaction of Gospel words, with linking sentences, was done effectively,
THAT IS, until that last episode. The Resurrection.
And the thing which I found least effective in that episode on the resurrection, was that event recoded in our Gospel reading of today.
The two disciples on the road to Emmaus.
In the tv programme, the writer had obviously grappled with the fact that the two disciples are said “not to have recognise Jesus”.
And so, the writer solved the problem by having Jesus walking on the road with them played by another actor.
And then, when in the story Jesus came to break bread – the original actor who played Jesus, suddenly appeared in his place at the table.
The writer of the series had also done the same (swapping the actor) with the meeting of Jesus and Mary at the tomb.
One actor, was replaced by the original actor at the point she recognised that the person she had thought to be the gardener was actually Jesus.
It somehow seemed to come across as a kind of magic trick – As if Jesus was masquerading in a different body. It seemed a bit Science Fiction like a sort of second rate “Dr Who”.
For me, It did not accord with the Jesus who had been presented throughout the previous episodes of this series, and it did not accord with the Jesus whom I find in the scriptures.
BUT, having said that, I am left with the Gospel record, which does say that these two disciples walked some distance with this stranger, and they only recognised him when he broke bread with them?
So, at least the BBC tv writer, was trying to make sense of this recorded incident.
And so, if I did not find this tv representation acceptable, what alternative explanation would I have to the one that the writer attempted.
And the simple answer is, I don’t have an answer.
I don’t know how I would be able to transfer the written word here into a visual presentation – as was attempted on tv.
The old convention, still operating when I was a boy, was that actors did not portray Jesus at all.
In the great block buster religious films of a previous generation, if Jesus appeared at all, he would be shown from behind, or in the distance,
or for example in Ben Hur or the Robe or Quo Vardis, where we only saw the feet of Jesus as he hung on the cross.
Well we can’t go back to those days. Conventions have changed. But there was a value, in allowing a sense of mystery when seeking to portray Jesus in film or tv.
However I non the less commend the BBC for this programme. I would be delighted for more tv programmes on Jesus, his life and message.
But I think when it comes to the resurrection appearances, we have moved beyond what is normal and expected – beyond what is able to be represented in simple human terms, and so , when plays are going to try and record something outside the realms of normality, as with the resurrection, there is inevitably going to be something unsatisfactory about the way it is done.
And perhaps that’s the point about this story.
FOR the only way to recognise the resurrected Jesus, is to recognise him through faith.
Ever since Jesus instituted the Eucharist, Christians have come to the altar – to the Lords Table, and met with Jesus.
But if you do not look through the eye of faith, all you see, is a religious ceremony,
It may have meaning for religious people.
But it remains the eating of a piece of bread, and drinking a sip of wine.
And there is nothing wrong with observing this act as a religious duty, in response to the command of Jesus.
But if this story of the Emmaus road is saying anything to us today, it is surely saying that, this special meal is a point when the barriers of normality can be broken down.
Where the greater reality of Gods eternity breaks into our human mortal reality.
And where we discover that the Jesus who broke bread at the Last Supper long ago, is alive.
And it is through Faith, that we discern him in his risen presence.
The meal is transported into something miraculous. In the words of the Church it is a sacrament.
A mysterious meal which unites us, with the Jesus who is alive today.
The disciples who walked that Emmaus road after the crucifixion,
were people under discipline to their rabbi -Jesus.
They followed the religious duties and rites of their religion.
With Jesus, for the previous three years they, and their fellow disciples, had studied the scriptures.
But on that day, their eyes were opened in a new way. And the dead rabbi, became their Risen Saviour.
It – just may be today, that your eyes can be opened, in faith to YOUR Risen Lord in a new way.
It may be, that your own discipleship, can be catapulted into a new dimension.
It may, be that today, is the day, when you will discover afresh, that the crucified Lord, who has been so important to you in the past, is suddenly alive in a new way.
And, so, come to this sacrament, not to eat bread and drink wine with Jesus, but to have your eyes, and heart opened to YOUR RISEN LORD, and then go from this place to walk with him into your future, till your life’s end. +++